Primary, petitioning candidacy possible in Stratford registrar race

STRATFORD — Local Democrats will find out next week whether there will be a primary for registrar of voters — but even if there isn’t, the battle for the post could extend to November.

Party leaders snubbed three- term incumbent Rick Marcone at a caucus last month, nominating instead Jim Simon, a journalism professor who lost a close race for a Town Council spot in 2019.

Marcone vowed to collect signatures for a primary, and has until Thursday to collect the roughly 460 he needs to force an Aug. 11 primary.

The coronavirus lockdown has made the process difficult, he said.

“It’s been challenging,” Marcone said, declining to say exactly how many signatures he’s collected so far. “A lot of people aren’t as readily receptive to opening the door. I’ve been reaching out to people I know.”

If he falls short, Marcone said he’ll gather signatures to run for registrar as a petitioning candidate in November.

He would only need about 170 signatures by Aug. 7 to get on the general election ballot, which could come from any registered voters, not just Democrats.

If that happened, and Marcone won more votes than Simon, it would mean, per state law, the town would have three registrars — Simon, Marcone and GOP incumbent Lou DeCilio, according to Gabe Rosenberg, a spokesman for the Secretary of the State’s office.

“But hopefully it doesn’t come to that, because my plan is go get on the primary ballot and win the primary,” Marcone said.

Marcone is a former chairman of the Democratic Town Committee — and was Stratford’s “Democrat of the Year” in 2015 — but his friendship with some Republicans has drawn the ire of the party’s current local leadership.

While nominating Simon last month, Paul Tavaras, who represents the 3rd District on the Town Council, noted that Marcone last year donated to Republican Jim Connor,

Simon’s opponent in the Town Council race and a longtime friend of Marcone’s.

Simon, Tavaras said, “will not kowtow and become a lackey for the Republicans, as we have several currently in Town Hall.”

Marcone called Tavaras’ comments “petty and juvenile.”

“If Mr. Tavaras learns the difference between ‘ kowtowing’ and negotiating and cooperating, he may be able to be a productive councilman,” Marcone said.

If Marcone forces a primary, he said he doesn’t plan to take Simon up on offers to hold public forums for voters.

“I’m not going to give him a forum to get any kind of publicity,” Marcone said. “I’m running on my record. I’m proud of the work I’ve done in the registrar’s office, and I’m not going to give him a platform to tarnish it or to gain any sort of experience, of which he has none.”

Simon said Friday that if Marcone doesn’t want to make joint appearances, he’ll make his case to voters directly, whether Marcone forces a primary or petitions his way onto the ballot for November.

“We are assuming that Rick will contest the party in a primary in August,” he said. “We have started our fundraising and we have our campaign organization in place and are ready for whatever happens.”

Since last month’s caucus, Democrats have also discussed the possibility of some Republicans backing Marcone to thwart the Dems, since DeCilio is guaranteed reelection no matter what.

At least one prominent Republican already has. In the days after the caucus, Connor reached out to Hearst Connecticut Media to pledge his support for his old friend, saying Marcone “is well liked and respected on both sides of the aisle” and has a long track record of volunteering in the community.

“Don’t count Rick out,” Connor said. “My money and support is with Rick.”